When the 20th century dawned, automobiles were rarer than were exceedingly rare millionaires. If you had a car in 1900 it was a sign of your immense prosperity. Goodness, if you actually knew someone who owned a car you ran in high, high circles.

In 1970 Dallas-based Texas Instruments released one of the first pocket calculators. This adding and subtracting machine that is standard on the internet and the most basic of smartphones today set you back $400 when the "Me" decade began. As for computers, by now most readers are aware that the first ones put on the market by IBM in the 1960s cost over $1 million despite them possessing a microscopic fraction of the capabilities found in models retailing for under $200 today.

Private flight? Once solely an activity enjoyed by the superrich, nowadays ads found in newspapers increasingly indicate that what was once a luxury indulged in by the seriously few is expanding its reach well beyond the few. As this column has been preaching for years, private flight will soon enough be a consumption item that's accessible to the masses.